Reds take on major rivals in final match of US tour – Man United vs. Liverpool Preview

July 28, 2018
Henry Jackson

Liverpool face bitter rivals Man United in Ann Arbor on Saturday night, as they look to finish their US tour and International Champions Cup campaign in style.

Man United vs. Liverpool

Saturday, July 28, 2018 – 10.05pm (BST)
Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor
Pre-Season Friendly (7)

After coming up short against Borussia Dortmund, the Reds returned to winning ways with a 2-1 triumph over Man City on Thursday.

Granted, the Premier League champions were almost unrecognisable in terms of personnel, but Jurgen Klopp‘s side excelled in the second half.

The introduction of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane brought the game to life, with Liverpool’s unstoppable forwards both finding the net.

It was another good runout as the start of the season edges closer, with the second-half performance largely superb.

Up next is the other lot from down the M62, in the latest clash between two of European football’s biggest rivals.

Pre-season games are never exactly the most competitive affairs, but when Liverpool and United meet there is always the chance of fireworks.

This may be a little more than just a friendly.

Team News

Naby Keita missed the win against City with a sore neck and Klopp has all but ruled him out of featuring, while Loris Karius (knee) and Georginio Wijnaldum (muscle) are doubts.

The trio missed training on Friday and will be assessed closer to the start of proceedings.

There is a strong possibility that Xherdan Shaqiri will make his Liverpool debut, having trained with his new team-mates this week.

Salah and Mane could both start after only coming on as second-half substitutes on Thursday and there is the mouthwatering prospect of them dovetailing with Keita for the first time, should the latter be passed fit.

Klopp has an otherwise fit squad to choose from, barring the stricken Joel Matip, who has flown home with a quad injury, and Nathaniel Clyne, who has also returned to England due to the birth of his son.

Opposition

United have had a solid but unspectacular pre-season to date, with three back-to-back draws against Club America, San Jose Earthquakes and AC Milan.

They won the latter 9-8 on penalties, with a total of 26 spot-kicks taken in the shootout, including one scored by former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina—who also saved four.

All doesn’t seem entirely well at Old Trafford, however, with Jose Mourinho cutting his usual dour self and frustration surrounding their current transfer activity.

With Liverpool strengthening greatly and City the resounding favourites for the Premier League title, they are in danger of not pushing on.

Anthony Martial looks set to leave which makes little sense—like Clyne, he has flown home for the birth of his child—but the form of Alexis Sanchez this summer has been a definite plus point.

Mourinho has a host of key players unavailable because of their post-World Cup holidays, including Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku.

Michigan Stadium

Capacity: 107,601
Where is it? 1201 South Main Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104-3722

Klopp’s View

Speaking to reporters in Ann Arbor on Friday, Klopp stressed the focus remains on fitness despite the emphasis on Liverpool’s rivalry with United:

“Pre-season is, especially in the early stages and when a lot of players are still not in yet, it’s more about a physical point of view.

“You have to make these boys fit, that’s how it is. The problems with that are we still have games in this period.

“We have full training, today more than we usually do, tomorrow morning more than we usually would on matchday, then we play a football game.

“The whole world watches and says ‘that’s all they can do?’—yes, in that moment.

“But step by step the boys are coming back, then our pre-season goes into the season. We cannot start the week before West Ham doing only things like we usually do in the middle of the season.

“That’s normal. We know a lot about the different stages and levels of the players, we try to use them in the best possible way.”